Meet Libby Sample. Libby is a freshman Political Science and International Studies major from Dallas, Texas. She is a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority through which she works with Peace at Home Women and Children’s Shelter. Libby loves to explore Fayetteville and North West Arkansas in her free time.
When I left for college, I had no idea how I was going to get around. My parents sent me without a car, and after 18 years of relying on cars to get me everywhere, I was worried. However, I soon realized that I had no reason to be. The U of A works hard to make sure that your student can easily go places without a car.
First, there are plenty of resources on campus. Everything is close so no matter where on campus your student needs to be, they can easily walk. All of their classes will be in walking distance as well as several other things that they may need. On campus, there are three different dining halls: Fulbright, Brough and Pomfret. They are in three different sections of campus so no matter where your student is there will be a dining hall near. The student union is home to the union food court. It has a Chick-Fil-A, Papa John’s, Flying Burrito, Burger King and more. The union also holds Au Bon Pain and a Club Red. Club Red is a small convenient store where students can use their flex dollars to buy snacks, candy, gum and more. Aside from food, the union holds things like the treasurer’s office, a post office and a passport office. The U of A also has a Walmart, dentist office, hair salon and bank on campus.
While your student may not have a vehicle on campus, it is very likely that they will make friends with someone that does. During my freshman year, I definitely made plenty of friends with cars who I was able to tag along with when they ran errands if I needed to.
The University of Arkansas has a bus system called Razorback Transit. These buses have stops all around Fayetteville. During winter, if your student is not used to walking in the cold weather or prefers not to, there are Razorback Transit spots all around campus that will get them much closer to where they need to be. Along with campus stops, the buses make stops all across Northwest Arkansas including Walmart and the Northwest Arkansas Mall. The great thing about Razorback Transit is that it is free to everyone, so your student will always be able to use this service. To find out more about the bus system and schedules you can visit parking.uark.edu.
If you still think your student will need some form of transportation on campus, alternatives could be a bicycle, skateboard, scooter or moped. There are many students on campus that use these things.
Overall, it is fairly easy to survive without a car on campus. Your student should be able to walk most places, and if they cannot walk, it is not difficult to find a friend who can help them out.